MPAA rating

In a world of brain-dead horror remakes, writer-director James Gunn didn't just set out to redo any old fright flick. In the body-snatchers-from-space tale "Slither," he aimed to remake them all.

With the gore-minded glee of a fan attuned to every cinematic scare tactic, Gunn also knows how silly they are, infusing "Slither" with a wicked sense of parody.

The first-time director, who wrote the screenplay for the 2004 remake "Dawn of the Dead," also has assembled a far finer cast than the genre typically presents, led by Nathan Fillion of the cult TV series "Firefly" and its big-screen spinoff "Serenity."

In the Southern burgh of Wheelsy, a bored Police Chief Bill Pardy is so benumbed by the snail's pace of his town that he never notices the fiery flash as a meteor crashes in the woods. Lunk-headed businessman Grant Grant (Michael Rooker) stumbles on the meteorite and the giant, oozy slug that crawls out of it. Grant becomes host for a parasite and is gradually transformed into a freakish, tentacled predator who unleashes hordes of slimy worms that turn the townsfolk into meat-hungry zombies.

Pardy and Grant's wife, Starla (Elizabeth Banks), with whom the police chief shares an unrequited romantic history, try to put down Grant and his zombie army.

Gunn revels in the absurdities of horror conventions but also clearly loves them. He's a real student of the stuff, piling on moments that embrace and spoof "The Thing," "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," the "Alien" franchise, the George Romero zombie flicks and countless other creature features.